Improvement in candy toys



R. H MOSES.

Candy Toy.

Patented June 17, I879.

122/0222??? MM-/\%W 74/2772 warwx PETERS. vn o'ro-m ampus UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

ROBERT H. MOSES, OF NEW YORK N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN CANDY TOYS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 216,628., dated June 17, 1879; application filed May 25, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ROBERT E. MosEs,

of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Candy Toys; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawin gs, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The object of myinvention is to produce, as a new article of manufacture, a toy Chinese lantern, which'shall be specially adapted, by reason of its diminutive size and ornamental appearance, for use by children in decorating small trees for Christmas festivals, and for similar purposes where a diminutive Chinese lantern is required.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a lantern globular in form, and Fig. 2 represen a cylindrical one, both forms being broken away upon one side to show the candle within.

A represents the upright portion; 13, the base; C, a wire bail, and D a candle, supported in a suitable socket, d, consisting of a flat base provided with a vertical socket, or with fingers adapted to receive and support the candle in an upright position.

It will be apparent, upon consideration of the circumstances of the case, that it would be impracticable to make a toy lantern of the size proposed-that is to say, not over three inches in length or breadtl1--out of paper or similar fabric, from which Chinese lanterns have been hitherto constructed, from the fact that they would readily take fire, for which reason they would be too dangerous to be used as toys by children; hence it becomes essentialto manufacture such articles from some material which is practically non-combustible, is sufficiently transparent, is cheap, and may be easily molded or otherwise manipulated into the proper form, and will also properly receive such coloring-matter as it may be desirable to use in the process of ornamentation. In order to meet these varied requirements,

I make my lanterns of sugar in the following manner: I take sugar in the form of sirup and boil it to a blowf then, by the use of molds formed, preferably, of corn-starch, with a central upwardly-projecting forin representing the internal configuration of the body of my lantern.

Having formed and properly dried the body, I secure in the lower part a candle-support, a, and put a candle in the support:

From an examinationof the drawings and the above description it will be readily understood by those who are acquainted with crystallized sugar in the form of rock-candy that a lantern thus made is practically noncombustible, and is sufficiently transparent, and easily permeated by coloring-matter, to produce a beautiful effect when lighted from within by the candle D, and to be very ornamental when not illuminated, by reason of its exterior being composed of many-sided crystals, with their sharp angles exposed to view, and also forms a desirable article of confectionery when not used for the purpose of decorating.

In practice, I prefer to ornament my lantern by means of stripes b and stars b, or other designs, in various colors, to increase its beauty when lighted and when not lighted.

What I claim as new is- The herein-described toy Chinese lantern made of crystallized sugar, and provided with a candle-support and a suspending device, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

D. H. DoUeLA ss, GEORGE A. MILNE. 

